As recently as yesterday, Apple made a much needed improvement to the App Store. The change is subtle, but necessary.

Developers of non-free apps everywhere will rejoice when they hear that users are now required to actually own an app to be able to review it.

I say non-free apps, because there really is nothing stopping you from downloading a free app just to badmouth it in the reviews. But paid apps will now benefit from reviews from actual users.

But developers aren’t the only ones benefiting here. No no, you and I benefit just as much. Now app reviews and scores will be more accurate and trustworthy. Previously, anyone with an iTunes account could review any app on the App Store. So, if you wanted to complain about the price of an app and give it a terrible score so that other people would be deterred from buying it, you could. This is no longer the case.

This policy change really makes sense, and should have been the policy from the beginning. The only suggestion I can make to Apple is to somehow include further verification that the user actually installed the app and at least attempted to launch it on his device. Reviews from nonusers are essentially worthless, so I’m glad to hear they will be a thing of the past.

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Quicknik

The part I still cannot fathom is what possesses someone to write a review of a product they've never downloaded and used in the FIRST place. Sounds like there's a lot of clods out there with a burning need to spew their opinionated, unfounded viewpoints. Or perhaps they're other developers who are trying to further their own competing products by attempting to squelch the competition. Either way, it's plain puerile.

Luis

It is a customer review after all, if you don't buy it how can you say anything about it. I agree with this new implementation, it should be applied to every other product in Apple.com as well. Just my two cents…

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